House approves amendments

The House of Representatives yesterday approved two motions for amendments to two bills brought from the Senate to the House shortly before the Parliament was prorogued.

The amendments to the bills approved were to the Bail (Access to Bail) (Amendment) Bill 2017 and the Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion) and (Plea Agreement) Bill 2017.

The bills were piloted through the Senate and the House by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi who said they will complement other pieces of legislation already enacted to deal with the volume of cases in the courts.

Al-Rawi also sought the permission of the House to transfer a number of other motions and bills that were being debated to the next session of the Parliament. His requests were also approved.

The Parliament is due for resumption on October 2 with the presentation of the national budget for the fiscal 2017-2018 year.